If you’re keeping an eye on your little one’s development, here’s a resource to help you gauge whether or not your child might benefit from therapy.

PHYSICAL THERAPY

Unable to stand on one foot with eyes open, eyes closed
Unable to kick a moving or stationary ball
Unable to toss a ball or beanbag at a target 5 feet away, unable to catch a tossed ball
Unable to manipulate stairs, or climb on/off playground equipment without assistance to plan the correct movements
Difficulties learning new motor movements
Appears clumsy and accident prone, frequently falling and tripping
Appears to have poor balance
Appears stiff and rigid, or loose and floppy

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Poor coordination for fine motor tasks, such as cutting, holding a marker or pencil, manipulating fasteners, opening and closing containers, stringing beads, etc.
Was slow to develop hand preference or is not clearly right or left handed?
Difficulties imitating age appropriate shapes and letters, difficulties coloring or tracing within the lines, poor handwriting, difficulties finishing writing assignments in a timely manner?
Unable to throw or catch a ball?
Have difficulties learning motor skills for a new activity or game?
Grasp objects too loose or too tightly?
Have an awkward grip on writing utensils?
Challenged with imitating block designs or completing puzzles?
Unable to visually follow an object or line of print smoothly with eyes or loses place frequently when reading or copying from desk or board in classroom?

Have poor endurance for standing or seated positions, props self on the desk, head in hands, or slumps frequently?
Has a short attention span or frequently requires movement activities to maintain attention?
Seems sensitive to movement, avoids swings and slides, gets dizzy or nauseated easily?
Seeks out fast or spinning activities, which frequently interfere with their daily routine?
Over or under reacts to touch, avoids getting “messy” with play (avoids paint, sand, glue, etc) at home or school?
Seeks out “rough” types of play, craves deep pressure and “hugs” more than other children?
Appears to not be aware of others in his/her body space?
Appears over or under sensitive to light and/or sounds? (Covers their ears with the vacuum cleaner, may not respond when name is called and you know their hearing is adequate) prefers the dark or shades eyes with hand when in the light?)
Becomes excited with a lot of visual stimuli?
Appears restless and fidgety?
Impulsive or risk-taking behavior?
Have difficulty organizing or structuring activities, difficulties with transitions between tasks, or react negatively to a change in their routine?
Display poor work behaviors and require verbal cueing from an adult to complete simple tasks?
Picky eater, avoids certain tastes or textures of food, on a limited diet?

Difficulties with any aspect of age appropriate dressing including: manipulation of buttons, zippers, or snaps, tying shoes, putting socks, shoes, pants, shirt or jacket on?
Unable to eat using utensils, including fork, spoon, and knife, dropping or spilling things frequently
Unable to drink from an open cup or straw?
Appears overly messy when eating compared to other children their age?

Not meeting the expected developmental milestones during the first 24 months of life
Difficulty coordinating and planning oral motor movements (tongue, lips) to formulate sounds/syllables or have weak oral motor movements (i.e. weak jaw and/or tongue movements)
Not putting two words together to produce phrases and short sentences
Articulation difficulties where their speech consists of substitutions (i.e "f" for "th", "w" for "l"), distortions (i.e. the "s" sound may be a lisp or sound slushy), omissions (i.e. the word "cat" is pronounced "ca")
Weaknesses in receptive language skills or the ability to understand language (includes following simple directions, identifying spatial and temporal concepts, understanding prepositions, antonyms, synonyms and multiple meanings of words
Weaknesses in expressive language skills or the ability to communicate through words, facial expressions, gestures, or other nonverbal forms
Difficulties in social situations, such as turn taking, eye contact, or understanding others feelings
Limited food repertoire
Poor vocal quality such as a hoarse or weak voice